Author: Nalbandian Albert

ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY’S HERITAGE OPPOSITION FACTION OPPOSED TO 2008 DRAFT STATE BUDGET

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 27 2007

YEREVAN, November 27. /ARKA/. Heritage opposition faction at Armenian
National Assembly intends to vote against the 2008 draft state budget,
Stepan Safaryan, the faction secretary said at Tuesday’s parliamentary
session.

The faction finds the 2008 budget "quite risky". Safaryan pointed
out Armenian dram revaluation, noting that the money transfers coming
from the outside make 10% of the budget’s revenue. He said he feared
volatile currency exchange rate might trigger problems.

The lawmaker said that one U.S. dollar was equal to 336 Armenian
drams in October, at the moment of the draft budget discussion,
while later the dollar plunged 10 to 13 percent. "It means we face
major risks connected with the outside financial means that ensure
the budget deficit repayment", Safaryan said.

He also said that the government has no well-thought-out program for
spurring industry development.

"We don’t play down the government’s intention to relieve people from
social problems, but think that it will be possible to reduce poverty
and bridge the gap between the poor and the rich under developed
industry. Under the present circumstances we can’t vote for a budget
containing such risks", Safaryan said.

Armenian government, taking into consideration lawmakers’ proposal,
increased the 2008 budget expenditure by AMD 3.747 billion.

In the final version, the revenue totals AMD 746 billion, expenses
AMD 822bln and deficit AMD 76bln.

CONSORTIUM OF MITSUI, GS ENGINEERING TO MODERNIZE YEREVAN HEAT AND POWER PLANT

Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
November 26, 2007 Monday 10:38 AM MSK

A consortium of Mitsui & Co and GS Engineering & Construction
Corporation Friday was named the general contractor to modernize
the Yerevan Heat and Power Plant under a loan from the Japan Bank
for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Armenian government press
service said.

The government approved a proposal to ask the Japanese government
for an additional loan to build a combined cycle block at the Yerevan
plant.

A source at the Armenian Energy Ministry declined to disclose the
amount of additional funds.

The construction will begin in February 2008 and should be completed in
28 months. A new 205-megawatt combined cycle block will be built that
will produce 1.4 billion – 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity
a year. The plant has capacity of 550 megawatts but only 50 megawatts
is utilized. Most of the capacity is not used due to the high cost
of producing electricity.

The project will be financed with a loan from JBIC for 15.9 billion
yen ($150 million) under an agreement signed in Yerevan in March 2005.

The loan was provided with government guarantees for 40 years at 0.75%
annually with a grace period of 10 years.

VAZGEN MANUKIAN: I CALL FOR CONSOLIDATING NOT AROUND MY PERSONALITY, BUT AROUND IDEAS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 28, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. At the congress of the National
Democratic Union held on November 28, a decision was made to offer
the candidature of party Chairman Vazgen Manukian for the presidential
elections of February 19, 2008.

"We live like serfs in a country, where the elections mechanism
does not work at all, which lacks political and economic competitive
capacity," the NDU Chairman stated in his speech.

According to him, to get rid of the authorities at any price has
become society’s dictate, but according to the NDU leader, this
approach is not so right, "as all this is not only conditioned by
personalities." According to V. Manukian’s observation, the disgraceful
political processes in Armenia are based on the already formed peculiar
system and are the logical continuation of one another. "The year 1998
was conditioned by 1996, the incidents of October 27 were conditioned
by 1998, 2003 was conditioned by October 27," V. Manukian said.

He also stated that the Nagorno Karabakh problem has never been so
important as today. According to V. Manukian, the slogan "let’s
cede Karabakh and live well" is very dangerous, as "if we cede
Karabakh, there will be no Armenia any longer." As he mentioned,
today a generation lives in Karabakh, to whom the NKR’s status under
the USSR is alien, the very generation should decide its fate. "I do
not know a case, when two other states sign documents regarding the
future of a third state. Only conquerred states are dealt this way,"
V. Manukian said.

In his words, Azerbaijan has huge oil resources, which permits that
country to develop and to strengthen its army. And Armenia, according
to the NDU leader, should be able to make time work in favor of itself,
for which "it should become really a democratic country, should use
Diaspora’s resource, which is equal to Azerbaijan’s oil resource."

In the current situation, as the NDU leader emphasized, he calls all
Armenian political forces for consolidating not around his personality,
but around the ideas adopted by him.

Arshak Sadoyan and Shavarsh Kocharian, the leaders of the Union of
National Democrats and National Democratic Party, took part in the
congress. They declared their readiness to support V. Manukian’s
candidature in the 2008 presidential elections. Armen Rustamian,
a representative of the ARFD Supreme Body, Hrant Khachatrian, the
Chairman of the Constitutional Law Union, Vardan Khachatrian, the
Secretary of the Zharangutiun (Heritage) party, Mher Shahgeldian,
the Vice-Chairman of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) party, Aram
Haroutiunian, the Chairman of the National Consent party, Hrachya
Sargsian, the Vice-Chairman of the Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) party,
and others made greeting speeches.

BUSINESS SOFTWARE ALLIANCE COMPANY TO WORK ON COPYRIGHT PROTECTION IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Nov 28 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS: The research made by the
international "Business Software Alliance" company dealing with the
protection of interests of the world’s largest companies creating
programs, showed that the percentage of Armenia’s copyright violation
is 95%.

Armenian representative of BSA Narine Mkrtchian told today at a
press conference in Armenpress press hall that the company is going
to undertake a number of steps in that direction is Armenia.

She said BSA program for Armenia is aiming to increase awareness
on IPR and commercial software value across all segments in private
and public sector and also to institutionalize government officials’
support for IPR awareness and law enforcement. N. Mkrtchian said that
this goal is being built in 3 aspects – PR communication strategy
and media reach; customer compliance and awareness; and government
engagement for IPR protection and awareness.

"Armenia has issues connected with the copyright of computer programs
and in some way it is because of lack of awareness," Mkrtchian
said. She also underscored the involvement of governmental circles
in copyright sector and in protection of interests of companies.

Narine Mkrtchian said that the company has started its activity in
Armenia from 2007 and its members are such like leading companies as
"Synopsys", "Microsoft", "Apple", "Adobe", "Auto Desk".

"In Armenia we will mostly work on licensed usage of the computer
programs created by the member companies," N. Mkrtchian said, adding
that in case of violation of copyright of any company which is included
in BSA, the latter has right to apply to court and demand compensation.

"By involving relevant bodies we will try to regulate the issue not
only through criminal but through administrative code as it is not
desirable each time to subject to criminal punishment if the issue
may be regulated by compensation," she said.

IN ADDITION TO OVER 30 MILLION DOLLARS INVESTED BY "DUNDEE PRECIOUS METALS" IN SYUNIK SO FAR, 20 MILLION DOLLARS TO BE INVESTED FOR EXPLORATION OF KAPAN MINE

Noyan Tapan
Nov 29, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian prime minister Serge
Sargsian on November 28 received Canadian businessmen Jonathan Goodman,
James Small and Canadian Armenian businessman Prof. Azat Vardanian. It
was reported from the Armenian government that the Goodman family
is the founder of a number of companies operating in various sectors
and the Goodman’s wealth is assessed to be worth more than 65 billion
dollars. Jonathan Goodman is the owner and president of Dundee Precious
Metals company engaged in exploraion and operation of mines containing
precious metals. In Armenia, the company is represented by Dino Gold
company that started active work in mining industry in Syunik marz
and plans to invest another 20 million dollars for exploration of
the Kapan mine in addition to over 30 million dollars invested so
far, underlining that it has serious expectations to discover large
reserves, which will make reasonable both the investments made and
larger amounts to be invested in the future – at the operation stage.

Serge Sargsian welcomed the businessmen’s intention and said that
the Armenian government is interested in the entrance of famous
companies with large experience and high rating into Armenia because
such companies develop the Armenian economy by making investments
in various sectors in parallel with conducting profitable business
in our country. The prime minister assured the businessmen that all
the necessary favorable conditions have been and will be created for
encouragement of investments and business in Armenia.

Considering the mining industry as one of the most important sectors of
the Armenian economy, S. Sargsian on behalf of the Armenian government
expressed a willingness to assist the company with implementation
of the presented programs. The prime minister attached special
importance to the most efficient use of reserves of Armenia, which
is not so rich in natural resources, paying particular attention to
environmental problems.

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY MOURNS LOSS OF ILLINOIS CONGRESSMAN HENRY HYDE

armradio.am
30.11.2007 10:43

The Armenian Assembly of America mourns the loss of former Congressman
Henry J. Hyde (R-IL), an advocate for U.S. reaffirmation of the
Armenian Genocide, who believed that recognition of the truth was in
the best interest of the United States, Turkey and Armenia.

In September 2005, the Armenian Genocide resolution (H. Res. 316)
was overwhelmingly approved by the influential House International
Relations Committee thanks in part to strong support from Committee
Chairman Hyde. The resolution called upon the President "to accurately
characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000
Armenians as genocide."

"The argument has been made that these resolutions, if adopted, will
be harmful to [the] interests [of the United States] by undermining
our relationship with Turkey, which all acknowledge to be one of
our allies….But I do not believe that these resolutions will harm
that relationship," Hyde said. "They merely recognize the fact that
the authorities of the Ottoman Empire deliberately slaughtered the
majority of the Armenian community in that empire. Denial of that fact
cannot be justified on the basis of expediency or fear that speaking
the truth will do us harm."

"I believe it is in the interest of the United States and of Turkey
and Armenia both that we take the lead in dealing with this paralyzing
legacy.

And we must start with the truth," he added. "For there is no
possibility that this problem can ever be overcome if we seek to
ground any solution on silence and forgetting."

"Congressman Hyde clearly recognized that Turkey’s ongoing denial
campaign in this day and age is both inexplicable and unacceptable,"
said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly. "He
understood that remembrance and recognition of this fact of
world history would go a long way in preventing the recurrence of
genocide. Congressman Hyde’s passing is a great loss. We extend our
sympathies to his family and friends."

In 2003, when the International Relations Committee considered
President Bush’s Millennium Challenge Account, Chairman Hyde championed
the new foreign assistance program saying, "we should embrace the idea
of increasing U.S. economic assistance but only to those countries
that demonstrate a commitment to human rights, democratic ideals and
practices, and investment in people." That same year, he spearheaded
legislation establishing the government-to-government assistance
program. Armenia became one of the first of 16 countries to qualify
and later receive a five-year, $235 million grant from the Millennium
Challenge Corporation.

In response to the acute shortage of food, medical supplies and fuel in
Armenia in the early 1990s, Congressman Hyde joined his congressional
colleagues in urging Secretary of State Warren Christopher to take
the necessary steps to address the grave situation. The congressional
appeal urged the Administration to increase U.S. assistance, press
the government of Turkey to provide reliable transit route for
humanitarian supplies to Armenia and increase U.S. efforts to end
the Azeri blockade so that vital humanitarian assistance and energy
can flow unimpeded to the Armenian people.

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Nov 30 2007

WAR EPISODES NOT A MATERIAL WAR A PRE-ELECTION PR

The information regarding one of the episodes of the Karabakh war,
as publicized by ex-President L. Ter-Petrosyan during the meeting
with the representatives of the youth organized on November 3 in
`Armenia-Marriott’ hotel and the subsequent discussions held during
the past month in that connection, threaten to change the simple
tricks used during the pre-election campaign into a process of
disclosing state secrets.
Let’s note that highly appreciating Prime Minister Serge
Sargsyan’s investment in the process of the creation of the Army, he,
at the same time, accounted for this person’s being appointed a
Defense Minister by the following, seemingly naïve episode, `I
brought Serge Sargsyan from Moscow and not from Karabakh. Serge
Sargsyan was exiled from Karabakh; he had problems and serious
conflicts there’.
After a short while, Yerjankik Abgaryan, one of the `outstanding’
representatives of the Armenian pan-National Movement-led government,
committed himself to elucidating the `naïve’ hint, insisting that by
saying `exile’ Mr. Ter-Petrosyan meant S. Sargsyan’s conflicts with
Samvel Babayan, Commander of the NKR Defense Army.
Following one another, Seyran Ohanyan, Head of the Chief
Headquarter of the Armed Forces, and Samvel Babayan soon refuted this
`information trap’ which was used for specific purposes. Similar to
story of making a mountain out of a molehill, these `disclosures’
gave rise to a specific kind of chain reaction that threatens to
reveal new and new episodes from the Karabakh war.
In particular, after Samvel Babayan made statements in response,
promising to bring concrete facts to prove how the former authorities
of Armenia impeded him in liberating the territories and providing
supplies to the Defense Army, (S. Sargsyan had let for Moscow with
that purpose), he himself became a target for attacks.
In the meantime, disclosures and subsequent refutations regarding
various episode of the Karabakh war are beginning to appear in the
press. Such information is publicized by people who disguise
themselves behind the names of warriors. And this gradually changes
the current campaign into a long range of `military political PRs’.
Considering the active participation of a number of key figures
representing both the former and the present-day authorities,
including the veterans of the Karabakh war, this phenomenon could, in
some respect, be considered natural if the war were over, and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty were signed. In such conditions,
discussions on military topics could be estimated as sincere attempts
of clarifying the role and investment of each of our political
figures in the historic developments.
But the whole problem is that it is not at all a `disclosure of
the newest history’, as some people mistakenly believe. The episodes
of the Karabakh war cannot be viewed as history unless the peace
treaty is signed. In case the episodes of the war, which ended with
the unsteady ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, continues to be
discussed with such paces, this may inevitably turn into a process of
disclosing military and military-political secrets.
It is not accidental that all the relevant pre-electoral
`PR-disclosures’ publicized in our press during the past month were
collected one by one and `assorted’ in the Azerbaijani `Analitika.az’
Web site.
We believe, that those who ex-officio possessed the military and
military-political information regarding the unfinished war i.e. the
ex-President and his surrounding world who are involved in the
campaign, as well as the commanders and generals who performed
important tasks during the war, must avoid touching upon it in the
course of the campaign, despite its unyielding and sharp nature.

ARMEN TSATOURYAN

8th shift of Armenian peacekeepers left for Kosovo

armradio.am
01.12.2007 12:40

The 8th shift of Armenian peacekeepers left for Kosovo today. For six
months the peacekeepers will carry out mission within a multinational
division. During the solemn seeing-off ceremony the Chief of the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia,
Colonel-General Seyran Ohanyan noted that the Armenian peacekeepers
carry out their mission with honor. `Carrying a peacekeeping mission is
honor for every serviceman. The Armenian Armed Forces do not only
defend the borders of our country, but also participate in security
measures all over the globe,’ Seyran Ohanyan said.

According to the Chief of the General Staff, it is envisaged to enlarge
the Armenian platoon. Armenian peacekeepers may also carry out mission
in Afghanistan. Seyran Ohanyan informed that a corresponding agreement
was reached during the meeting in Brussels.

Up until now 238 Armenian peacekeepers have already carried out mission
in Kosovo.

A 46-member Armenian division is carrying out peacekeeping mission in
Iraq.

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 30, 2007 Friday

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIS UNITED AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM AS A PRIORITY OF
MILITARY COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Kazakh Defense Minister Danial Ahmetov said at the press conference
in Astana in the wake of meeting of the CIS Council of Defense
Ministers that development of the CIS United Air Defense System was
voted as a priority of military cooperation within the framework of
the Commonwealth. "The list of priorities includes furtherance of the
CIS United Air Defense System, participation in joint military
exercises, and advancement of military-technical cooperation along
the already established lines," he said.

According to Ahmetov, agenda of the meeting comprised 18 issues
including plans of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers and joint
exercises of the CIS United Air Defense System in 2008. "We also
discussed realization of the concept of developing a common
communications network encompassing all CIS armies, endorsed object
identification methods and practices," Ahmetov added. "The results of
working bodies of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers in 2007 were
toted up."

The Kazakh defense minister added that security and stability of the
Commonwealth depended entirely "on joint efforts." The next meeting
of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers was scheduled to take place
in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in the first half of 2008.

Delegations of defense ministries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, and Ukraine attended the meeting in Astana.

Source: ARMS-TASS news agency, November 27, 2007

RUSSIAN MP: KOSOVO SITUATION IS REALLY UNIQUE, BUT CAN BE A PRECEDENT

Regnum, Russia
Nov 15 2007

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk’s statement on Kosovo
can be connected with the fact that Ukraine is trying to assent to
the West because of its aspiration to NATO and the European Union,
member of the Russian State Duma Committee for Foreign Affairs Andrei
Klimov told a REGNUM correspondent today.

"Open a vocabulary. Precedent is an occasion or an event that took
place in the past and can serve as an example or ground for analogous
action in the present. A unitary state can disintegrate without
approval of the UN Security Council grounding on an opinion of only
one of the parties. It is a precedent, which is quite dangerous for
Ukraine," Klimov believes. "If there is such an initiative regarding
Crimea and it is supported by some countries, not necessarily by
Russia, Ukraine will have a lot of problems," the MP cited the
analogy. Klimov also noted that, according to expert estimations,
if a precedent is established, within next 15-20 years 50-60 more
countries will appear on the global map, and they would not be
consignatory parties to any international treaties. "Attempts to
establish states on athnic or language grounds is a dangerous way
that can bring to a dead-end," Klimov said.

As REGNUM reported earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Arseny
Yatsenyuk, while speaking at a news conference at the first
international forum in Kiev titled "Settlement of frozen conflicts in
the context of security and stability in Black Sea area," said that
the situation in Kosovo is unique, so it cannot become a precedent
for regions like Transdnestr, Ossetia or Nagorno Karabakh. Besides,
Yatsenyuk stressed that there would be no conflicts analogous to those
in Transdnestr, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in the Ukrainian territory.